M.I.Y.O Monday: What Food Do You Crave When It’s Raining?

Note: M.I.Y.O. Monday stands for Make It Your Own Monday, a question thrown out to DCF readers every Monday to jumpstart the week with lively interaction. I also welcome questions and suggestions for future MIYO Mondays. Email me.

It used to be that once I heard the raindrops pattering their soundtrack on my roof or I began contemplating the monochromatic kaleidoscope of rain staining the outside of my library window, I’d reach for my cup of hot – usually instant – cocoa. These past weeks however, I find myself craving for sustenance that’s more substantial.

Lately, my rainy day food of choice is pasta. I especially prefer pasta made with plenty of sardines practically submerged in a chunky tomato sauce. My noodle of choice: spaghetti, because I fancy twirling noodles instead of piercing them. I’ve written before (see first link above) about the pasta my Bin used to make for me when we were first married: tuna spaghetti. Thirteen years later, I never cease to marvel at the marvelous pasta dishes my man makes, and sans recipes too. It’s something he does once a week for me, usually on a Saturday night. Though I’d like to say that we eat our plates of pasta curled up on the couch with our knees touching, the truth is that we eat “properly” at the dinner table because tomato stains are a bitch to clean. Trust me on this one.

So tell me, what food do you hanker for when it’s wet and dreary outside?

I also find rainy days to be the ideal weather for comfort food, which means I easily crave for pizza. Lori, you love sardines on your pasta, I love mine on my pizza! I LOVE the sardine pizza from Le Coeur de France and Bellini’s, although really, on bed weather days, I don’t have the sense to be picky. Any decent pizza even Shakey’s and Yellow Cab will make me happy 🙂

I usually hanker for something warm. When I was a kid, it would either arroz caldo or a cup on Nissin’s Ramen (the chicken one with sesame seed oil). Now, anything hot is fine, along with something sweet or on really odd rainy days: Ice cream. 🙂

if class got called off because of a storm. our driver would pick me up in xavier and I’d eat Goto with him in Good Ah! greenhills. crunchy chicharon and calamansi in the bottle. ahhh warmth in your belly and you’d be burping the goto smell for the rest of the afternoon. LOL

Champorado! Glutinous rice cooked in La Rusereccion tablea from Binondo. I only like my champorado with this specific tablea and I always crave for this when its raining.
Speaking of which, I’ve depleted my supply of tablea from this past rainy episodes that we had. Time to hit Binondo again to replenish pantry supply and do some Binondo Wok.

Pinoy Fried Chicken and Tinola. i buy a whole chicken and use the neck, back and boney bits for the tinola (i like using a LOT of ginger and chili leaves). the rest of the chicken is marinated in patis & calamansi, then lightly dredged in a seasoned flour (paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper), and fried to a golden crisp.

nothing better than a tasty tinola broth with so much ginger, it catches the back of your throat and warms both you and your taste buds up. coupled with slightly soft and sweet sayote/green papaya, bitter chili leaves, and a fried chicken which is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. 🙂

Champorado! It always takes me back to my childhood when, without fail, there will always be a bowl of steaming, chocolate-y porridge waiting for me and my sisters whenever classes would get suspended. Now I make it my own (though not from scratch; I use the ready-to-cook type from White King, which actually tastes like the real thing!).

usually it’s arroz caldo but recently it has been pasta too! in fact, since it was cold and dreary last saturday, i couldn’t help dropping by the grocery on my way home to buy ingredients for pesto. cooked pasta for dinner and before long i was warm and cozy =)